New York has become the first state in the country to enact a moratorium on data center development, a move that initially energized local activists. However, nearly four months into the one-year pause, community organizers are expressing growing concern that the state will not follow through with stricter regulations once the temporary ban expires.
Adrienne Yocina, a mother of three who has spent the last two years organizing in western Genesee County, says she is “getting nervous.” Her group has been fighting to stop a proposed 600-megawatt data center near the Tonawanda Seneca Nation’s reservation and a federal wildlife refuge. Yocina worries that Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul will not sign a stronger bill to impose a more permanent and rigorous pause on development.
Yocina also criticized the state Department of Environmental Conservation for not being adequately involved in evaluating data centers. “I feel like she’s just trying to shut us up,” Yocina said of Hochul.
Legislative Compromise and Political Strategy
The moratorium began in July, just two months after Hochul initially dismissed the idea of a pause. The governor issued an executive order as a compromise after the state legislature passed an omnibus bill that would have implemented a one-year moratorium with stricter provisions. The legislative bill included tighter limits on data center size and mandated a thorough environmental impact review by the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Instead of signing the bill, Hochul issued her own order. Her office states they are still reviewing the legislation, with a deadline to sign it by the end of the year. State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, a Democrat and sponsor of the original bill, said the governor’s office proactively reached out to help design the moratorium for immediate relief. However, Gonzalez noted that residents she spoke to during a data center tour overwhelmingly wanted more aggressive measures to protect communities from air pollution, noise, and rising utility bills.
The issue has become central to midterm races across the country. In New York, Hochul holds a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed 53 percent of voters trusted Hochul to handle AI and data centers better than Blakeman, who called the moratorium “crazy” when it was passed.
Public Opposition and Future Challenges
Despite the political gains, public opposition to data centers remains strong. A Siena poll from September found that 63 percent of New Yorkers would oppose data centers in their area even after the moratorium expires. The number is higher among New York Democrats, with 75 percent saying they would remain opposed to development.
Hochul has framed the pause as a democratic choice for communities. At a roundtable discussion in the Hudson Valley, she told reporters that the purpose of the pause was to allow communities to decide whether they want data centers. “This is democracy in action,” she said. “If you want it, it should come with all kinds of guardrails and restraints, but if you don’t want it, it doesn’t come.”
As the election approaches, at least 20 gubernatorial candidates have promised a data center moratorium or pause. Newly elected officials will face highly engaged constituents who are finding a political home in the fight against these facilities. Yocina, who had never voted in a local election before, now says her group is brainstorming alternative uses for the site they were trying to block. “We’re trying to figure out what we can say yes to that’s not a data center,” she said.
The financial risks of data center expansion are also becoming clearer. Anthropic’s recent IPO documents admitted that the tech giant’s plan to develop its own data centers exposes it to financial risk due to its reliance on natural gas. The filing acknowledged that heavy demand could drive up the price of natural gas, making it harder to purchase.
Source: Wired
